There is just over a fortnight left until the 2025 Castlemaine Documentary Film Festival opens at Castlemaine’s historic Theatre Royal.
CDoc’s opening night special event on Friday July 4 will feature the silent film and masterpiece, Man With A Movie Camera, with live score by Underground Lovers Moda Discoteca. This score has been commissioned especially for the festival and will be a night not to be missed.
CDoc director Claire Jager said Dziga Vertov’s playful 1929 Soviet silent documentary Man With a Movie Camera revolutionised cinema with dazzling never-before-seen techniques and playful energy.
Filmed by his brother Mikhail Kaufman and edited by his wife Yelizaveta Svilova, this avant-garde masterpiece captures a day in Soviet cities across six parts, from dawn to evening.
Originally a medical student named Denis Kaufman, Vertov adopted the name (meaning ‘spinning top’) in 1918, reflecting both his kinetic aesthetic and the revolutionary turbulence that shaped his artistic vision. His transformation was inseparable from the upheaval of post-revolutionary Russia — where even access to filmmaking materials was restricted by Western blockades.
“Over the decades, the film has inspired more than 20 different soundtracks, including Michael Nyman’s 2002 version,” Jager said.
“In 2025, exclusively for the Castlemaine Documentary Festival, the Underground Lovers Moda Discoteca will perform live accompaniment responding to the film’s visual rhythms, tempo shifts and bold structural patterns,” she said.
Despite its exuberant style and radical innovation, Man With a Movie Camera was condemned by Stalin’s regime and quietly vanished from Soviet theatres after a brief run.
Vertov’s influence has only grown over time. In 2014, the British Film Institute’s Sight and Sound poll named it the greatest documentary of all time — and it remains widely regarded as one of the 10 best films ever made. Tragically, these accolades came too late to alter the course of Vertov’s life or career during his time.
Underground Lovers Moda Discoteca is the electronic offshoot of legendary Australian band Underground Lovers, created by Vincent Giarrusso and Glenn Bennie in collaboration with Mat Watson (Free Fields, Other Places, Taipan Tiger Girls), Matt Sigley (The Earthmen, Lovetones), and Maurice Argiro (Underground Lovers).
With a shared history of live performance, the group brings a cinematic sensibility and an experimental edge to their sound.
For this special Castlemaine Documentary Festival commission, the ensemble has created a new, original score through a collaborative and improvisational process. Rather than a traditional, tightly timed soundtrack, their approach draws from contemporary film scoring ideas — responding to the film’s visual rhythms, structural shifts, and emotional arcs in real time.
Vincent Giarrusso, a filmmaker and screen media lecturer with deep familiarity with the film, has led the creative process with sensitivity to Vertov’s original vision.
Each scene is treated as a narrative moment, with the music enhancing the viewer’s emotional and sensory experience.
The result is a dynamic, immersive event that brings fresh energy to a silent cinema classic: blending past and present through sound, image and spontaneous performance.
The opening night event is proudly supported by VicScreen. Don’t miss it.
The Castlemaine Documentary Festival Full Weekend Pass offers unbeatable value — access to all 10 screenings, plus their signature special events: two live gigs and LOCALS.
And there’s more! Festival Pass holders can enjoy discounts all weekend: a $30 pizza and drink deal (wine or beer) at Theatre Royal and 10 per cent off meals plus a free wine or beer at Love Shack.
Each pass also guarantees you go into the draw to win a bottle of locally made Forêt Distillery Pastis and dinner for two at Boomtown Winery (drinks excluded).
To secure your Festival Pass, Friday Double Pass or Day Pass, visit cdocff.com.au
